Archive for July, 2011

Google recently announced the launch of its Chromebook, which will be Samsung and Acer notebooks installed with a Chrome web browser. The Chrome web browser will essentially serve as a bare-bones operating system for users to access email and spreadsheets directly on the web rather than storing software such as Outlook or Word directly on PCs.

We believe that the Chromebook launch is directly aimed at Microsoft in the PC operating system and productivity software market as well as Apple, which uses its own operating system for the Mac and iPad.

What’s at Risk for Microsoft?

Microsoft derives about 75% of its stock value from Windows operating system and Office suite of products, according to our estimates. This indicates how important it is for Microsoft to protect these businesses.

Although consumers and businesses are accustomed to Microsoft’s products over the years, and more advanced programs will need the support of a full operating, this could serve as another shot across the bow from Google in its intentions to move toward a web based environment. In the near-term, we expect the impact to be negligible for Microsoft; nonetheless, Google could threaten Microsoft’s core businesses in the long term.

Google’s solution could be cheaper, faster and enable users to avoid annoyances with traditional PC’s such as long boot up times and staying on top of updates and new software versions.

Like this:

The Maybach 57 S has a 12-cylinder engine, goes from 0 to 100 in 5.2 seconds and is designed to be a sportier alternative to the other models. It has more power than the 57 or 62 models, 604 hp versus their 543 hp. As in the other models – Maybach 57 and 62 – the maximum speed is electronically limited.
Top Speed: 250 kmphPrice: $440,000 in US
Rs 5.47 crore in India
Despite claims that the Carrera GT supercar had gone out of production, the car is very much available in the US and is in the list of one of the world’s most expensive cars. The car has 605 hp @ 8000 rpm, can go from 0 to100 in 3.9 seconds and has a ten cylinder engine – a type of rarely seen outside of racing.
Top speed: 330 kmphPrice: $448,153 in Europe
Rs 5.59 crore in India
Maybach’s 62 ultra-luxury sedan is made by Mercedes-Benz and has proved that even a car this expensive to build can turn a profit. The Maybach 62 accelerates from 0 to 100 in just 5.4 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited but can be reached rapidly and with virtually no apparent effort.
Top speed: 250 kmphPrice: $452,750 in US
Rs 5.64 crore in India
The SLR McLaren is as comfortable and sophisticated as a street-legal racecar can be. It is a collaboration between Mercedes and legendary British racecar builder McLaren. With the help of a 617 hp and 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine, the SLR sprints from 0 to 100 in just 3.6 seconds.
Top speed: 343kmphPrice: ₴58,000 in Europe
Rs 6.94 crore in India
The Koenigsegg is a Swedish car that sports a supercharged V8 engine. It can go from 0 to 100 in 3.2 seconds with its hp of 806 @ 7000 rpm. The Koenigsegg CCR currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most powerful car in series production.
Top speed: 395 kmphPrice: $ 637,723 in US
Rs 7.95 crore in India

Started by former racing driver Steve Saleen, the Saleen car company produces some of the fastest cars in the world. The S7 is designed to compete with the fastest and most luxurious grand touring cars.. It can go from 0 to 100 in six seconds has 750 bhp @ 6300 rpm and sports an all-aluminum V8, 2-valve.
Top speed: 320 kmphPrice: $645,084 (Global)

Rs 8.03 crore in India
Leblanc is ramping up production of its new Mirabeau supercar. The company hopes to make the vehicle street legal for the US by early 2007. With a six-speed sequential transmission, more than 700 bhp @ 7600 rpm, the Leblanc Mirabeau’s interior is optimized for maximum acceleration.
Top speed: 370 kmphPrice: $654,500 in US
Rs 8.17 crore in India
The most expensive American car is also the fastest. Automaker SSC estimates this vehicle is capable of going from 0-60 in just 2.9 seconds and the base model has a supercharged 6..2-litre V8 engine rated 787 bhp @ 6600 rpm. The SSC Ultimate Aero requires 104 octane gasoline.
Top speed: 400 kmphPrice $667,321 in Europe and US
Rs 8.31 crore in India
Pagani is an Italian boutique automaker that builds radical-looking racecars. This version of its Zonda flagship has 555 bhp @ 5900 rpm, can go from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and is propelled by mid-mounted V-12 DOHC engines.
Top speed: 344 kmphPrice: ₱,000,000 in Europe
Rs 15.17 crore in India
Volkswagen’s production delays are finally over and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is ready to hit the road. The car sports a W16 engine fed by four turbochargers, can go from 0 to 100 mph in six seconds and uses unique cross-drilled and turbine vented carbon rotors that draw in cooling air for braking.
Top speed: 407 kmph

Like this:

Ford continues to work its way back to health, posting a solid second quarter before the bell on Tuesday despite seeing its net income fall 8% from last year to $2.4 billion. Investing in product development around the world, including China, Ford faced higher commodity and structural costs, while it saw sales increase and it paid off its debt.

Chrysler also posted earnings, with a deeper loss as compared to last year despite rising revenue, as the automaker pays the U.S. and Canadian government for their bailouts.

The only one of Detroit’s Big Three not to file for bankruptcy, Ford earned $2.4 billion in the second quarter. Adjusted to exclude one-time costs such as paying off its debt and payroll reduction costs, Ford earned $2.9 billion or 65 cents per share, above Wall Street’s estimate of 60 cents.

“We delivered very good second quarter results while growing the business globally and serving more customers in every region,” said Alan Mulally, Ford president and CEO. “Despite an uncertain business environment, we further strengthened our balance sheet and continued to invest for the future.”

Ford paid off $2.6 billion in debt, bringing its total debt outstanding to $14 billion, as the company works its way to investment grade ratings again. It also spent $110 million in employee reduction.

Total market share in the U.S. in the first half of the year averaged 16.7%, while in Europe it stood at 8.4%. Ford expects that number to be equal or improved from 2010 in the second half of the year. Ford also reiterated its full-year U.S. sales guidance of 13 to 13.5 million units, while it trimmed its European estimate to 14.8 to 15.3 million units, from 14.5 to 15.5 million units.

Chrysler posted a net loss of $370 million, down from a net loss of $172 million a year earlier. The loss came despite revenue growth of 30% to $13.7 billion and a 19% increase in global sales. Chrysler, bailed out back in 2009, is now operated by Sergio Marchionne’s Fiat, an Italian automaker. (Read Fiat To Take Chrysler Stake To 57%, Plans To Buy 6% From Treasury).

Shares in Ford traded up in pre-market trading but fell to a low soon after the opening bell, amid general equity market weakness. By 10:15 Am, shares were trading up 0.2% or 3 cents to $13.20.

Like this:

General Motors launched the Beat hatchback in January 2010 and since then the company had been promising a diesel version. Now, a year and a half later since making that promise, it has now kept its word and is all set to launch the Beat’s diesel avatar.

The changes on the Beat diesel, apart from the engine of course, include a new electric power steering, a full-size USB port in place of the mini USB port in the petrol version, and a TCDi badge at the rear. The rest of the kit remains unchanged.

Like this:

A C?: AH! SI?
AAF: As A Friend
ADAD: Another Day Another Dollar
ADIH: Another Day In Hell
ADIP: Another Day in Paradise
AEAP: As Early As Possible
AFAICR: As far as I can recall / remember
AFAICS: As far as I can see
AFAICT: As far as I can tell
AFAIK: As far as I know
AFAIR: As far as I remember
AFAP: As Far As Possible
AFK: Away from keyboard
ALOL: Actually laughing out loud
ASAP: As soon as possible
ASL or A/S/L: Age / sex / location
ASLP or A/S/L/P: Age, sex, location, picture
ATEOTD: At The End of the Day
ATM: At the moment
AWOL: Absent Without (Official) Leave
AYBABTU (also abbreviated as AYB): all your base are belong to us (from the video game Zero Wing)
B

B2B: Business to Business
B2C: Business to Customer
B4: Before
BBIAB: Be back in a bit
BBQ: Barbecue. While not Internet slang in itself, it is often combined with other initialisms as a point of satire, absurdity, or a non-sequitur. For example OMG WTF BBQ.
BBL/BBS: Be back later / shortly / soon
BCNU: Be seein’ you
BFF: Best Friends Forever
BFN: Bye For Now
blog: Also known as web log or an online journal
BOFH: Bastard operator from hell
bot: Any type of automated software in chatrooms and web-cataloging software
BRB: Be right back
BSOD: Blue Screen of Death
BTDT: Been there done that
BTW: By the way
bump: Increment (for example, C’s ++ operator.) or a backronym for “Bring Up My Post”
C

CMIIW: Correct me if I’m wrong.
crawl: To retrieve a web page along with the hyperlinks that reference it
crapplet: A poorly written computer application
CU: See you (later)
CYA: See ya OR Cover Your Ass
cyber- (prefix): A term used to connect the subsequent word loosely to the world of computers or the Internet or sex over a computer
cyberspace: Virtual reality, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other kinds of computer systems. Science fiction author William Gibson popularized the term in his novel Neuromancer. Gibson used the word to describe a virtual world of computer networks that his cyberpunk heroes ‘jacked into’
D

DFTT: Don’t feed the trolls
DIAF: Die in a fire
DILLIGAF/D/S: Does it look like I give a flip / fuck / damn / shit
D/L: Download
DND: Do not disturb
DOA: Dead on arrival. Refers to hardware that is broken on delivery.
E

EOF: End of File
EOM: End of Message
EOL: End of Life (device or hardware that is at the end of its product life cycle) OR End of Line.
EQ: EverQuest
ETA: Estimated time of arrival
F

F9: Fine
FAQ: Frequently Asked Question(s)
FFS: For fuck’s sake
flamer: Someone who makes inflammatory, abusive or directly offensive comments. Similar to, but not quite the same as an Internet troll.
FMCDH: From My Cold Dead Hands
FML: Fuck my life.
FOAD: Fuck off and die
FOAF: Friend of a friend
FTFY: Fixed that for you
FTL: For the loss
FTW: For the win
FTW?: Fuck the what? (reversal of WTF?, implies increased confusion)
FU: Fuck you
FUBAR: Fucked up beyond all recognition / repair (from military slang; pronounced “foo-bar”)
FUD: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (the purposeful spread of misinformation)
FWIW: For what it’s worth
FYI: For your information
G

GBTW: Get back to work
GF: Great/good fight
GFU: Good for you
GFY: Go fuck yourself
GG: Good game, used at or near the conclusion of a gaming match
GGS: Good games
GJ: Good job, often used in online gaming when a teammate performs an act benefitting his team, such as killing an opponent or enabling that kill
GL: Good luck, used before commencing a game
GMTA: Great minds think alike
Godwin’s law: Dictates that the longer a thread, the more likely someone will post a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler
gratz: Congratulations
GTFO: Get the fuck out
GTG or G2G: ‘Got to go’ or ‘Good to go’
GR: Good Race
H

HAND: have a nice day
handle: Name used in online chat, (AKA nick(name), alias, screen/user name)
HF: Have fun
haxor or H4x0r (1337): Hacker
hit: A request made to the web server, (noun) the results of an Internet search, (verb) loading a Web page. Hits are not equivalent to visitors of a webpage.
home page: The website’s introduction page, starting point, and guide. The technical term is “index”
hot list: A collection of publicly available URLs (World Wide Web site addresses), sometimes available as text files.
HTH: Hope this / that helps
I

IANAL: I am not a lawyer
IBTL: In before the lock
IDK: I don’t know
IHT: I had to
IONO: I don’t know
IIRC: If I recall / remember correctly
IIUC: If I understand correctly
ILY: I love you
IMO: In my opinion
IMHO: In my humble / honest opinion
IMNSHO: In my not so humble opinion
IMAO: In my arrogant opinion
information superhighway: The Internet (AKA: I-way, infobahn)
IOW: In other words
IRC: Internet Relay Chat
IRL: In real life
ITYM: I Think You Mean
IWSN: I want sex now
IYKWIM: If you know what I mean
J

jaggy: aliased computer graphics
JAS: Just a sec
JFTR: Just for the record
JK or j/k: Just kidding, or joke
K

k or kk: OK
KISS: Keep it simple stupid.
KOS: Kill on sight
KTHX: OK, thanks
kthxbye: OK, thanks, goodbye, used either to cut short a conversation or to express displeasure with being cut short
L

L8R: Later, L8R also sometimes abbreviated as L8ER is commonly used in chat rooms and other text based communications as a way of saying good bye.
lag: Slang term for slow Internet speeds or high Internet latency; Lag is sometimes due to a server problem, but more frequently due to the connection between client and server. A slow or intermittent connection may often be referred to as laggy
lamer: A know-nothing, one who is lame.
leet: Often spelled as l33t or 1337. It originally meant elite
LFG: Looking for group
LFM: Looking for more
LMAO: Laughing my ass off
LMFAO: Laughing my fucking ass off
LMIRL: Let’s meet in real life.
LMK: Let me know
LOL: Laughing out loud, laugh out loud
LTNS: Long time no see
lulz: corruption of LOL
lurker: Someone who frequents a Usenet group without participating in discussions
LYLAB: Love you like a brother.
LYLAS: Love you like a sister.
M

N1: Nice one, used mostly often in gaming
NE1: “Anyone”
newbie, newb, n00b: An inexperienced user of a system or game, or an annoying person. Usually a derogatory term for someone inexperienced at a game.
NIFOC: Naked In Front Of Computer
NM: (Sometimes written N/M) Not much, Never mind or no message, used on message boards or in e-mails to indicate that everything is already said in the subject line.
n0rp: Alternate form of pr0n, intentional misspelling of porn
NP: No problem
NS: Nice shot. Used in online gaming.
NSOH: No sense of humor.
NSFW: Not safe for work. Warning about content that may get the viewer in trouble with his employer or co-workers.
NVM, NVMD, or nm: Nevermind, not much
O

O RLY: Oh really?
OIC: Oh, I see
OFN: Old freaking news
OMG: Oh my god
OMFG: Oh my fucking god
OMGWTF: Oh my God what the fuck
OMW: On my way or Oh my word
ONOZ: Oh, no
OP: Original poster / Operator / Outpost
OS: Operating system
OT: Off topic
OTB: Off to bed
OTOH: On the other hand
OTP: On the phone or One true pairing or On The Piss
P

SCNR: Sorry, could not resist
SFW: Safe for Work, see NSFW
sk8/sk8r/sk8er: skate/skater
smiley: Another name for emoticons
SMH: Shaking my head
SNAFU: Situation normal: all (fucked/fouled) up
snail mail: Normal paper mail service
SOHF: Sense of humor failure
SOS: Someone (watching) Over Shoulder
spider: The program behind a search engine
STFU: Shut the fuck up
STFW: Search the fucking web
T

TANSTAAFL: There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, a quote originally attributed to Robert Heinlein
TBF: Time between failures
TBH: To be honest
TG: That’s great
TGIF: Thank God it’s Friday
THX/THNX, TNX or TX: Thanks
TIA: Thanks in advance
TIL: Today I learned
TIMWTK: This inquiring mind wants to know
TINC: There Is No Cabal, a term discouraging conspiracy theories
TINS: There is no spoon
TL;DR: Too Long; Didn’t Read
TMI: Too much information
TOOBS: Internets (refering to the Internet as a series of tubes)
TOS: Terms of service
TTBOMK: To the best of my knowledge
TTFN: Ta ta for now
TTYL: Talk to you later (also spelled TTUL, T2UL or T2YL)
TTYN: Talk to you never
TTYS: Talk to you soon
tweedler: One who has deep love for all computer related technology and gadgets
TY: Thank you
TYT: Take your time
TYVM: Thank you very much
U

w00t, w00T or WOOT: First two express exuberance, the last is a backronym for the term “We Own the Other Team”.
W/ or W/O: With or without
WB: Welcome back
wedsite: Wedding Website
W/E: Whatever
W/E: Weekend
WRT: With respect / regard to
WTB: Want to buy
WTF: What the fuck
WTG: Way to go
WTH: What the hell
WTS: Want to sell
WTT: Want to trade
WUG: What you got?
WUBU2: What (have) you been up to?
WUU2: What (are) you up to?
WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get
W8: Wait
Y